Thoreau and Modern Civil Disobedience

Summary: A glance at the life of Henry David Thoreau, and insight of his doctrine in aspect to the modern day lifestyle.

Henry David Thoreau's novel thoughts and opinions regarding civil disobedience influenced America's rebellious side for years to come. Thoreau spent most of his life in Concord, Massachusetts. In fact, he was born there in 1817, and died there in 1862. What happened in the span of those forty-four years influenced leaders centuries later. Born David Henry Thoreau, to the owner of a pencil factory in Concord, Thoreau had a simple inauguration into life. Further, on down the road, Thoreau attended Harvard University, but never surpassed middle of his class. His fellow classmates considered him a scholar, however. His friends thought of him as a "rugged, independent, inventive Yankee," while others thought of him as a "well educated loafer who wore frumpy clothes, liked to walk, and preferred the company of pine trees to people" (Spiller 1254). In college, a sense of Thoreau's rebellious side glimmered, as he demanded...